My Desert Cave of Books Lost to Time

[@StephanieJCohen]

What a great treasure chest of books. I would love to know what was in Gogol’s Dead Souls as well.

[@tomlabooks3263]

The great thing about a book lover is that, as time goes by, it gets more and more interesting to listen to them. That certainly applies to you, Jack! Merry Christmas to you and your family. 🎉🌲

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

Thanks for the kind words, Tom! A Merry Christmas to you as well. Cheers, Jack

[@dqan7372]

Was just reading about the Mayan Codices the other day; that would be at the top of my list this month. Any 'missing' text hinted at in the Bible is tantalizing. I haven't read enough Greek and Roman classics to really feel the loss of the missing texts. But the recovery of any lost text warms my historical heart, even if it's just "To do: Buy goat's milk" or "Billy malus nequamque est" written on a latrine wall.

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

The Mayan codices would be a real treasure, though I suspect those are gone. I’ll be curious to see if technology will aid the deciphering of either Linear A or the Incan quipus. I originally had the hypothetical Q source on my list, along with the Mushaf of Ali, but I wasn’t sure how folks would respond to those two. I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend! Cheers, Jack

[@tomlabooks3263]

Never heard about Dead Souls, especially the partial inspiration from Dante. Very intriguing!

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

I’m curious to see how he would have achieved it. The Russian Orthodox perspective would have been an interesting counterpoint to Dante.

[@bardmadsen6956]

There is no need, I know what The Tragedy is about, except we have ventured, searching for our purpose, as if the answer is about us, individually. It is like a deep thinker I recently ran across on here talking about how we like to stay on our Yellow Brick Road, I found what lays beyond the pavers, the genetic trauma memory that brings on denial and incredulousness. It is a dire warning that we forgot and refuse to look upon, the commonality of the vast majority of traditions, a unifying element that proves that we Anthropomorphized and Zoomorphized the Comet and Superbolide of The Taurid Meteor Stream thirteen millennia ago and only have "known" of it since 1950. It is about the cyclic destruction with Impact Winter, the atmosphere unloads with the blue sky Sun rejuvenating the planet, and a lull before the next destruction, alike destroyer, creator, and sustainer. We all know The End of the World and how afterwards we live again with a new world, but it is really about the physical self-evident planetary cycles. There is an active concerted effort to squelch my work, the promulgation is that there is NO symbolism within The Tas Tepeler Culture, the carved in stone monuments are just decoration! And they play logical fallacy that the bright blinding light of The Superbolide / Thunderweapon is about skin color... It is spelled out as big as Dallas with no one willing to see it. We still unknowingly act out the ancient tradition today going door to door asking if it will be a bad or good outcome when the Halloween Fireballs (The Taurids) fall.

[@tripp8833]

Suspiria de profundis was an incredible read. What a great writer. I had the feeling a lot was being lost in translation in Dead Souls I’m looking to read Satyricon at some point. May go straight to it after hearing your praise… I have that same edition… Great video !

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

I’ve had that same feeling with Gogol, but I found his stories a better window into his writing. Suspiria is so strange and compelling. Hope you enjoy The Satyricon!

[@DuncanMcCurdie]

This is the ultimate Christmas Wishlist.

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

What would be on yours, Duncan?

[@davidnovakreadspoetry]

What a great idea for a video! That chest had better have a phial with some magical longevity elixir - I’m barely making it through what we have. Personally I’d like to see what plays by some of the _other_ prizewinning playwrights - Attic comic poets in particular - were like in ancient Athens. I don’t know if humanity can survive the Anthropocene (😂) but if it does, I figure we’re on the cusp of another great literary decimation. How would the putative future look back on _us?_

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

I’m certainly interested in the Old Comedy. Aristophanes is hilarious. The later works that seem to rewrite Middle and New Comedy have not struck me the same way, but I’d likely still open up anything we found. The next century of life and culture is veering closer and closer to an apocalypse, though if it will be on the order of Late Antiquity and the Dark Ages or a greater conflagration remains for another day. Hope you’re having a nice week with Galbraith, David. Cheers, Jack

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Livy! Yes!

[@ramblingraconteur1616]

But which part of Livy? I suspect we all have a top secret double probation wishlist of the parts of Livy we’d be most excited for.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

@@ramblingraconteur1616 well of course I want it all!